Housing, workforce development top of mind for political candidates in biz-focused forum

HOLLAND — Democrats and Republicans on the national stage do not agree on a lot these days, but closer to home, candidates running to represent the Holland area seem to agree on one issue during a recent forum: the need for housing in West Michigan.

At a Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce candidate forum Monday at Boatwerks restaurant, candidates seeking state offices representing the Holland area were asked to talk about issues impacting the business community, and housing and the labor shortage were two that rose to the top.

"I think the No. 1 issue that is impacting our communities in our district is housing," said Joey Andrews, a Democrat running for the 38th Michigan House District. "You need worker housing if you're going to have workers to work for your businesses.

"A lot of our communities function on the basis of tourism as one of the major economic drivers, but the tourism industry is dependent on the service economy, and if you don't have housing for workers to work those service jobs, you don't have service jobs anymore."

Troy Rolling, one of Andrews' potential opponents who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 38th District in August, piggy-backed off Andrews' comments to discuss the need to promote the skilled trades in Michigan.

More: Candidate withdraws from Holland statehouse race, leaving two in GOP primary contest

More: One of Sen. Roger Victory's primary challengers disqualified from August ballot

More: Candidates vie for votes in Michigan's 20th Senate District

"We need to it a step back and we need to figure out how we're going to get people to build the houses in the first place," Rolling said. "We need more plumbers, we need more welders, we need more bricklayers. We don't have people that can build, so I believe that that affects business long-term. How do we get those? Well, we start trying to help kids understand in school that college is not for everyone."

Several of the Republican candidates for the state house mentioned promoting alternatives to college while kids are still in high school, including former Holland mayor Nancy DeBoer, who said kids ought to learn in school that working a manufacturing job can look vastly different than working on an assembly line in today's world of robotics and advanced manufacturing.

DeBoer is seeking the Republican nomination for the 86th House District seat, representing the city of Holland and surrounding townships.

What the solutions to an inadequate housing stock and a lack of affordable options might be was less clear; Andrews suggested building more housing, especially multi-family housing, and allowing for more density in communities.

Seth Getz, a Republican running in the 86th District primary against DeBoer, cited Holland nonprofits Jubilee Ministries and Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity partnering on affordable housing developments as an example of potential fixes.

"We need to look at programs such as that to say, 'How can we reexamine those programs, other creative solutions like that, to be able to make more affordable housing?'" Getz said.

Democratic candidates Annie Brown, who is running in the 38th District, and Todd Avery, who is challenging Rep. Bradley Slagh, R-Zeeland, in the 85th District, each cited public transit as a priority in their campaigns and as ways to promote business by helping employees get to the workplace.

Slagh, in his re-election pitch, said he was focused on listening to the business community's needs and preserving local control.

Sen. Roger Victory, seeking reelection to the Michigan Senate in the 31st District, used the platform at the forum to talk about two bills he has sponsored: a 50-cent gas tax holiday (Victory sponsored one bill in the four-bill package) and Senate Bill 885, a $1.4 billion agriculture and rural development spending bill.

"I'm going to continue to work hard flipping that script and making sure that we're investing in our hometown communities, along with housing and all those other components," Victory said.

— Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens. 

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Housing, workforce development top of mind for political candidates in biz-focused forum